This has been a milestone year for your Association. We established as a 501c3, which required substantial modernization of our bylaws, and launched the Greensboro Association Endowment which reinforces our mission and enables us to deliver long-term benefits for Greensboro. This year also marked another year free of invasive species in Caspian Lake thanks to Andy Dales and the Lake Committee. Our mission guides all of our activities, incorporating a dual focus on Caspian Lake and the surrounding environment and The Greensboro village and community.

The Greensboro Association mission is to conceive, advance, and support village initiatives and organizations that enhance our community and to protect Caspian Lake and its surrounding environment for both full and part-time residents of Greensboro.

We are continuing to evolve from a historically summer-focused ‘lake association’ to a year round ‘Greensboro association’ with a more expansive focus.

Committee Activity

Barr Hill & Long Pond Nature Preserves: We maintain this committee as a liaison with the committee led by Clive Gray. Thanks to Chris King (Chair) and Allison Stegner for their work supporting Barr Hill and Long Pond initiatives. Look for more work ahead on road repairs and also a volunteer day to help keep the views from the picnic area.

Communications Committee: This year-round effort managing the website, emails and the Directory is led by Linda Ely (Chair) with help from Betsy Hunt for the website, Niall Kirkwood for the Spring Newsletter and Cilla Smith supporting the ‘Green Sheet’ calendar. We are working on strategies to bring together a more unified calendar for Greensboro, working with colleagues from different village organizations. Emily Purdy is leading this effort.

Events Committee: The Events Committee, under the leadership of Victoria von Hessert (Chair), sponsors the annual Caspian Challenge, which is a fun community event as well as a fundraiser. We promote Caspian Sail Days to encourage people to get out on the lake. This year, Naomi Ranz-Schleifer plans to sponsor a young persons get together to celebrate membership in the GA.

Endowment Committee: In the last two years, the Grants Committee took on a major new effort to launch the Greensboro Association Endowment and the 501c3 process. Clay Simpson (Chair) deserves our deepest appreciation for spearheading the entire program with help from Linda Ely. Supporting Clay and Linda was a committee that offered immense expertise and insight, including Andy Dales, Rick Lovett, Mike Cassidy, Day Patterson (who played the lead role over two years in reshaping our Bylaws and getting us established as a 501c3), Bob Fairbanks, Clive Gray and Mary Parker. Alan Lukens graciously agreed to serve as our first Chair of the Advisory Committee, which includes a number of community leaders. This board will help identify the needs in Greensboro and help facilitate the growth of the endowment. To learn more, please visit the endowment page on our website.

Greensboro Initiatives: Naomi Ranz-Schleifer (Chair), Allison Stegner, Chris King, and Sara Dillon have been working with the committee (consisting of Naomi Ranz-Schleifer, John Mackin, and Selectboard Members Peter Romans and Bridget Collier) to help address plans with the Willey Beach Park. Our Committee is also helping in the exploration of sidewalk and recreation path alternatives in Greensboro as well as ways we might support enhancements to village infrastructure to better support local businesses that enhance the vibrancy of the community.

Lake Protection: Andy Dales (Chair) continues to lead our lake protection initiatives with support from Bob Parrish, Allison Stegner, Jim Sutton, June Bascom, Rick Yeiser (Chair of Greensboro Land Trust Stream Runoff Subcommittee), and Linda Shatney. Our grant application helped to increase funding so we can better support the summer Boat Monitoring program which continues to be a model in Vermont. Silt accumulation continues to be a key challenge and we work to reduce run-off.

Membership: Allison Stegner (Chair) with Naomi Ranz-Schleifer and Sara Dillon will be working to expand our membership with all residents in Greensboro who share, value and support our mission. As part of our stewardship in Greensboro, please make sure your neighbors, friends and renters consider membership in the GA.

Sunday Evening Music – Our Sunday Lake Concerts continue to be led by John (Chair) & Lisa Hewett with help this year from Elias Ranz-Schleifer. Please let us know if you can help with the Sunday Evening program. John and Lisa need help to get the concerts set up on Sunday evenings!

Nominating: Don Jenkins (Chair) leads the process of nominating a slate of Trustees. This year, we welcomed a set of new members to the board that expand our representation with the year-round residents. These included Charlie McAteer, Devin Burgess and Emily Purdy. We would also like to welcome Sara Slater and thank Lucy Lukens for efforts on behalf of the GA.

Swimming Committee: Lorelei Wheeler (Chair) faced significant hurdles in 2014 getting the swimming program underway. A lot is changing with insurance and other factors and it is more difficult to staff the program. We are working to restart the program in 2015.

Zoning By-Laws: Larry Hewes (Chair) leads this committee and supports the Town Plan. The village faces a number of considerations for the long-term use of Greensboro buildings as well as infrastructure.

Priorities for 2015

Our priorities build on our on-going work to increase the impact of The Greensboro Association supporting the vibrancy of our community and the preservation of our environment for the short and long term:

Continue lake protection leadership in Vermont, ensuring enduring support for the programs on Caspian Lake.

Grow the Greensboro Association Endowment with capital gifts and bequests that enable us to support our mission and the Greensboro community over the longer term.

Expand annual donations, beyond dues, under our 501c3 structure to help us better support annual programs.

Continue to foster stewardship in Greensboro supporting local organizations, clubs, activities and initiatives that improve the vibrancy of our village, environment and community.

Greensboro Town Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday March 3. The Greensboro Association Annual Meeting is scheduled earlier this year, on Thursday July 30, 5PM. Please come! Thank you for your support and the opportunity serve Greensboro in this role. Please email me at jcstone@gmail.com or call me at (617) 686-7305 with your comments and suggestions.